Clarity had been working behind the scenes at her family's HQ. There had been news sent to her by an old family friend that her mother's brother had not died that day. Ever since the letter had landed upon her desk she was rarely seen around town. She had been working with this old family friend to find out more information about this mystery man. Sightings were going off every week and they needed some stone cold facts. 

At first, this led her to believe that her mother had killed her own father over nothing, but the more they found out she began to piece the puzzle together. Her brother had been brutally murdered. The only mess up was that they failed to make sure he was dead. Even though he was laying there lifeless, he still have a very small pulse. Clarity's mother had not killed her father in vain. He did "kill" his own son. 

Somehow, someway, her mother's brother, which was Clarity's uncle, had lived. At least, the evidence was starting to prove this. It wasn't until her grandfather's death that this man started to show up in local hot spots. He was able to hide himself until now and with her grandfather dead, this allowed him to come out of the shadows, but there was only one way to figure out if the man really was who he looked like. Clarity would have to go and meet him in person to find out the truth.

This meant everything to her, as finding the one man that made her mother everything she was, everything that had drove her to be, would be one of the biggest moments in her life. Not to mention that he was blood related.

All this time, he had actually been alive...

What would life had been like if Clarity's mother had known this? They would of went to England to escape her family like they had planned. To live a normal life, not one of crime. Would Clarity even be? If it wasn't for this life things wouldn't of happened the way they did. She was very happy with her life, the people in it, and how things were turning out. Yet, what would it of been like, to not look over your shoulder every minute of your life? To walk the streets as just another business man or woman. What would her job be? Would she of married and had kids?

Her thoughts slowly changed as she continued to sit there at her desk looking at the photos. If this really was her uncle, would he even know who she was? Would he care? Is he still the same man that her mother told her about? What would happen once they meet?

Shaking her head furiously, she tried not to think about these thoughts. Even though the more you tried not to think about something, the more you actual thought about it. For all she knew, this man could just be a look alike. Her uncle could very well still be dead, nothing would change except for the hope that was lost. 

Covering her heart with her hand, Clarity frowned. Showing feelings was a sign of weakness. Slapping herself in the face to wake up, she then grabbed all the photos and threw them into the folder.

She never actually knew this man, why did he mean so much to her? Was there really an unbreakable bond between family members? She knew many people who hated part of their family, but yet there was still a bond that tied them all together. She didn't care much for this feeling and in all honesty, she really wanted nothing to do with it, but it was taking control. She had to find this man and get her answers.

Suddenly, the sound of the phone ringing made Clarity jump out of her chair. Quickly grabbing the phone she answered, while trying not to drop the phone to the ground.

"Hello!?" Clarity said with a startled voice.

"Yes, this is Clarity...Yes, I am heading there tomorrow...I'm traveling by train of course...You'll have someone waiting for me?...Alright then, Thank you!"

Hanging the phone up she turned back around to grab the folder and place it into her purse. Taking a moment to let out a sigh of relief she began to make her arrangements for the next day.

Blackrap makes his way through the complicated labyrinth of the HQ looking for Clarity’s office. He is a Gangster now, he thinks it’s time to express his appreciations to the one that accepted him in the family. He rehearses loudly on his way to the office. “Thank you for accepting me in your family. I’m .....aaa..most grateful”. No, this won’t work. And she is a beautiful woman,I will blush,  I will definitely screw this up. He starts panicking as he approaches the door. No, maybe another time. Noo, where is your manhood? He opens the door a trips, almost fell on his knees, and starts saying quickly:

Clarity I am most grateful to be....

He stops and examines her face. Something is wrong with her. He closes the door behind him.

You look troubled. Can I help with something?

The closed door to Clarity’s office worried Jordan. The door was usually open. On the rare occasion it was closed it was for a private meeting Jordan was a part of. Today was different. Clarity was in her office alone. The last thing she told Jordan was to stay in the headquarters today and stand by for further orders. That cryptic request made Jordan worry more.

Jordan continued to pace in the hallway outside Clarity’s office until she heard someone approaching. When she turned around she was eye to eye with a new member of the family, Djosefin. The young woman’s hair was messy and a cigarette was dangling out of her mouth. The casual look bothered Jordan because she took pride in her appearance. She never left her house before spending hours on her hair, make up, clothes, jewelry, shoes and choosing the perfect handbag to carry her gun in.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in.” Jordan commented to Djosefin. “Late night?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she held up her hand and added, “Never mind. I probably don’t want to know where you’ve been.” Jordan pointed down the hall to her office and said, “Come on, we’re on stand by today for orders. You can wait in my office with me so I can keep an eye on you.”

When they went into Jordan’s office Djosefin walked straight for the liquor cabinet and poured herself a drink. Jordan looked at her watch and shook her head. It was only noon. It wasn’t that many years since Jordan was the younger mobster’s age, but she never drank before five o clock. It was one of her rules, like never wearing open toe shoes after Labor Day.

“Djosefin, sit down.” Jordan suggested as she sat behind her desk. “We have to talk about how much time you spend with your best friend Jack Daniels.” With her eyes on the young mobster Jordan wondered if she could talk some sense into her and still worried about what was going on in Clarity’s office.

After walking down the sidewalk and into the HQ she was relieved to find shelter from the bright sun outside even with her sunglasses on. Djosefin threw another smoke into her mouth as she went up the stairs, pulling out her lighter, she shut out the world for a few seconds. As Djosefin raised her head, she stopped just in time before running into Jordan.

'Well, looked what the cat dragged in...'

Djosefin looked down at herself and ruffled her hair around as Jordan commented. Djosefin got up that morning in her house on the kitchen floor. As to how she got there, she really didn't know. After finally letting her head clear a little bit, Djosefin lifted herself off the floor and threw on her jacket and went out the door. Her white muscle shirt was wrinkled as hell, jeans had another rip to add to the collection and her hair was a disaster to say the least.

'Late night?' Jordan said in a rather harsh voice.

As Djosefin was gonna try and spit out some excuse to her night, Jordan stopped her by gesturing her to keep quiet.

'Nevermind...'Jordan continued on talking, but Djosefin just shrugged it off.

Djosefin than followed Jordan into her office. Scanning around the room, she couldn't help but see a glorious bottle of Jack Daniels on top of a book shelve. Quickly grabbing the bottle and sliding into Jordan's guest chair, she opened the bottle and took a drink. Waiting for Jordan to sit down. She didn't. She stood there, with a bit of a glare and said, 'We have to talk about how much you time you spend with your best friend Jack Daniels.'

Djosefin just chuckled and took another drink from the bottle. She had no clue as to what was going on, but decided to take a drag from her smoke and fill her lungs. She decided not to say anything, but just than she heard a door open forcefully just down the hall.

Striding quickly down the halls of the headquarters on his way to her office, Shedao glanced around trying to spot his boss. She could often be found among the members of her family doing one thing or another, but today she wasn't to be seen. Not that it mattered all that much, he wanted to talk to her in private anyway.

It was supposed to be an easy task. He had been sent to arrange tickets for her as he had a friend who worked in the office, otherwise he would have assigned the task to one of his associates, but while he was there, he'd heard something that he thought she would want to hear. Why was his luck so erratic, had he pissed off some deity in a past life, or something? Oh well nothing for it.

As he approached her office, he noticed that her door was closed. Well, damn. Quickly making a detour into his own office, he appropriated some stationary and an envelope. He stuffed the ticket into the envelope before penning a quick note.

Boss,

I stopped by to pick up your tickets, like you asked, but there was a bit of a problem. You got a seat on the last train going in, and there are none coming out. No one at the ticket office knew anything, so your guess is as good as mine as to what's up. I'll be making calls trying to find more out if you find me before I do you.

Shedao

Quickly tucking the note into the envelope, he sealed it and walked back to her office. Sliding it beneath her door, he started making a mental list of who might know what was up, and how long it would take them to get back to him.

Thomas had been out all night and woke up with a sizable headache. It was early in the morning, in fact, it was 6am to be exact. A feat Thomas was not accustomed to on a Saturday morning. He ruffled around and gathered the strength to get out of bed, throw on a suit and loosely tie on a tie. He grabbed him dark sunglasses and made his way out to work. He made this same drive every morning. It was simple really. Head to the HQ, grab any orders or instructions that may be awaiting him and once all of that was done go about his day as he pleased doing as he wished. It was a lavish life he lived that he felt was well worth the danger that accompanied it. As he made his way into the building and through a couple hallways he spotted a good friend Mr. Shedao placing an envelope upon the boss ladies' door. It was strange that this door was shut, of course, but to be sliding notes and such seemed a bit overboard to him. After all, we're all family here. With a grin on his face Thomas grabbed his friend by the shoulder of his jacket.

"Good morning my dear old friend,

What's with this tip toeing about in the HQ?? I don't like it one bit. If you're wondering what I'm wondering there's only one way to find out. I mean she could be in there choking to death on her breakfast and no one would know let alone bust in there to save the day right?!"

Without waiting for an answer Thomas rather brutishly kicked the door open and pulled the man by his shoulder as they both entered the office to find that the boss lady was not in any immediate danger. Sure her face seemed a tad troubled, but nothing that required any emdiate action. He let go of Shedao's shoulder and smiled at Clarity as he began to speak confidently in order to avoid her asking him to remove the sunglasses.

"Good morning boss!

Shedao and I were worried as we saw the door was closed and he brought up an excellent point that you could be here in trouble and no one would know! So we boldly rushed in to save the day, but seeing as you're all fine and dandy might I ask if there's anything I might be able to do for you miss?"

He flashed his usual shit-eating grin that he flashed when speaking to those with the emense power over his life.

Clarity was a bit startled at how many of her family was worried about her. A few had kept their distance and respect her privacy while others were daring and broke in to find out what was going on. She chuckled a bit and smiled. She had a good bunch of people and they made her very proud.

Making her way out of her office she grabbed the file she had been working on and motioned for everyone to sit around at the table they had. Once everyone had sat down she opened the filed and tossed the pictures out upon the table. As she watched her family study the pictures, she waited for a bit. She was going to allow them to ponder the shots first before explaining to them what was going on.

She had already sent Shedao out to help her get the tickets, but he didn't know much else of what was going on. She thanked him for doing what he could.

Finally, content with how their facial expressions were, Clarity spoke to them.

"I know you are all wondering what is going on. I suppose I should let you in on it."

Pausing, she took a drink of water before continuing.

"You see, what led my family to the life of crime was the killing of my uncle. In those pictures you see there, that man is supposedly him. Now it is not confirmed, but if I was to compare photos of this man and my uncle, you would see twins."

"My mother loved this man dearly, he is what drove her. So I have set out to find him and in doing so it could be dangerous. I've had small hints that he has taken over my old family's business. With my grandfather removed permanently, he decided to take over and run things his way. If he is still the same man he once was, then I don't fear him very much, but people change and that is why I have been doing my research."

Passing out the papers she had in the folder, it showed the actions of her old family.

"They don't seem to kill unless need be, but there were a few 'accidents' that lead me to believe they aren't such nice people. Granted, we all have a sour mafioso in a family that gives us a bad rap, but I am taking precautions. I have a family of my own, so I can't exactly stick my neck out like my mother did so freely. I have to do my best to put my safety and your safety first. So to just go to my old town and confront him, would be extremely foolish."

"Which! Is why I need your guys help. Any idea's on how we can do this? I've been a bit stumped recently."

Clarity looked around the table and hoped for good responses. She was a bit desperate to find out answers, and she needed the help of her family.

Blackrap sit at the table, looking around. All these people are here to help their Boss, and the only thing that he can think of is what the hell is he doing here. He barely knows them. But this is a good opportunity to show his loyalty to his new family. However he doesn’t possess any skills that can help them with this problem. Robbing post offices is not a skill. He lost his natural family long ago, its one of the reasons his here. But he has to do something to help his Boss, a distracted boss is bad for business. Finally, his mob thinking comes into play.

Clarity, I do not know what the next step is. But if you are planning to go to see this man, whoever he is, you should not go alone. You don’t know what he is capable of.

He does not know these people yet, so he doesn’t offer to be the one to escort Clarity, and she needs a friend on this trip, if she takes it, not a new low-life from her crew.

Where in the hell is Xiphos? Jordan wondered as she looked around the room. All eyes were on her. Whether they were looking at her for a response or just staring because she was stunningly beautiful Jordan didn’t know. Instead of wondering the whereabouts of Clarity’s Right Hand Man any longer Jordan studied the photos on the table. One of them caught her attention. Standing near the man who was supposedly Clarity’s uncle was a man Jordan recognized. It was a face she hadn’t seen in many years.

“I…” Jordan began to speak, but was still distracted by the familiar face in the photo. Memories of a fun carefree weekend in Las Vegas flooded her mind. It was long before Jordan joined the mafia. Back then she was a cocktail waitress and pursued by many rich and powerful men. One of them was the man in the photo. He was a gentleman and said all the right things to persuade Jordan to have dinner with him. The date turned into a long weekend together that Jordan later regretted.

“Any suggestions, Jordan?” Someone in the room asked.

“Yes.” She answered quickly and stood up to pace the room. Instead of thinking about the past her mind went into work mode. “We need more information about the man who might be your uncle.” Jordan spoke directly to Clarity. “Perhaps we should send a couple of our newest members to work for him and report back to us.” With a gesture towards the two youngest people in the room Jordan continued, “I suggest Djosefin and Blackrap.”

There was some discussion around the room about Jordan’s suggestion. As a few people talked Jordan picked up one of the photos and approached Clarity. She pointed to the face she recognized and said, “He looks like he works closely with the man who might be your uncle. Maybe he’s the Right Hand Man.” As Clarity looked at the photo Jordan added, “I can arrange to have dinner with him. I know him, but haven’t seen him in a few years.” Jordan paused and contemplated if she should tell her boss more. She decided it was best to be honest, regardless of how stupid the truth made her feel. The discussion at the table was loud enough for her to discreetly confess to Clarity, “He’s my estranged husband.”

Djoesfin hung around the doorway still with bottl eof Jack Daniels in her hand. As they discussed, she listened intently. "I suggest Djosefin and Blackrap." Almost dropping the bottle, Djosefin could not believe what she was hearing. Not saying anything, she accepted the position that was thrown onto her by Jordan. 'This is gonna get interesting.'

Just than Jordan broke her thought process by confessing she was married to one of the men. Djosefin put the bottle down on a small table and stayed quiet. The room was silent now after Jordan made her comment. Trying not to draw attention to herself, she waited for someone else to speak.

PopPopShinebox nods his head and watches from a distance while sipping a glass of fine Chianti.

Dare I break this awkward silence?

Shedao listened as Clarity explained the situation. He could see that some of the family associates were giving the matter some serious thought, more so after Jordan's idea was put forth. He wasn't a family man, so he didn't personally feel the appeal of reconnecting with a lost relative; it was important to his boss, though. So he gave the matter some thought before an idea started to form.

Well, I know that I'm not the only one here who has connections on both sides of the legality line, I say we milk them for anything they can find out. If you are going to be meeting with these people, I think we'd all feel better if this wasn't a blind alley. Also, I would second Jordan's suggestion. having someone on the inside will benefit us in numerous ways.

One last thing, if we can't just pick him up and bring him here for a little chat, then I would suggest keep it to as public a venue as possible. They'll be less likely to try anything in public.

"I think I would prefer trying to arrange a dinner date for you two would be a safer plan. If this doesn't get us anywhere then we can attempt to send one of our own in. Yet, I would rather not have any of you risk your lives to find something out about my uncle. He is my uncle after all."

Clarity rummaged through the file's papers to see if she had any information on the man that Jordan pointed out. She didn't come across anything and frowned a bit. 

"Even if he is your, uh, husband..."

She couldn't say that without pausing slowly and making a face. The words coming out of her mouth felt weird and wrong. Shaking her head she then continued on.

"I don't want you going alone. Myself and a male from the family will arrange for a dinner date at the same restaurant as you. This is to keep an eye on you and not let your safety be put in jeopardy. Granted we will not make a scene and will only watch from afar. If something was to go wrong I would want you to give us a signal. One that he wouldn't exactly find threatening, but would alert us that you were in danger."

Looking at Jordan she began to ponder what the signal could be.

"Well, you know your habits and actions better than I do. So perhaps you can come up with the signal yourself and we will watch for it."

Then looking around the table she only saw three of the men here. She figured one of them would happily volunteer to be her dinner date, but so far none had piped up. Frowning, she let all of them keep a picture so they would recognize the man.

A dinner date with her estranged husband was going to be difficult for Jordan to get through, but she agreed to Clarity’s suggestion. “I’ll go to my office and call him.” Jordan said and walked towards the door. Abruptly she stopped in the doorway and turned around. “If there’s trouble I’ll signal you by putting my handbag on my lap. I like to have my gun within reach.”

In her office Jordan reached for the phone on her desk and realized her hand was shaking. “Damn it!” She cursed and shook her head. She couldn’t believe she was nervous about calling him. Unfortunately she couldn’t pour herself a drink for courage because the only liquor bottle in her office was empty. Assuming Djosefin drank every drop of alcohol in the HQ Jordan figured she would have to make the call without a drink.

Jordan picked up the phone again and hoped to get the call done in a hurry by leaving a message with one of his associates for him to meet her for dinner. Not expecting him to answer the phone Jordan was dumbfounded when she heard his voice. For a moment she contemplated hanging up. “Hello.” He repeated on the phone. “Is anyone there?”

“Yes.” Jordan answered quietly then stated more confidently, “Hello, my love.”

After everyone dispersed from Clarity's office, Djosefin strolled outside. Taking out her cigarette case and removing one from her collection she walked towards a local bar. Her head was still in a bit of a daze from the morning and the combination of Clarity's predicament. After finding an empty stool in the bar, she sat down and finally decided to think about what happened. 

'How do I feel about the possibility of working under someone else...how do I feel...'

Djosefin was trying to get her head together and decided to order her usual whiskey. 

'I'll wait for word here on the situation. Maybe they won't need me. Hope Jordan knows what she's doing...'